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how were you approached?

What’s the least amount of money it’d take for us to get’cha to come and be our preacher?” This conversation was the first contact with this church—the worst approach I’ve ever received inviting me to consider working with another church.

Elders and search committees tell much in the first contact. Are you interested in just some preacher or me? What have you learned about me that makes you think we might be compatible and I would be effective where you are? What will be your selection process? I’m not interested in a “beauty contest”—asking ten to twelve preachers to come in successive Sundays, select the best sermon, and invite him to be your next preacher. I’ve participated in that when I was desperate. It’s better not to be desperate. Let me share with you a welcomed contrast to that approach.

The Best Approach I’ve Ever Experienced or Heard

On June 4, 1984, I received a call from Bill Kirkpatrick. He said he and another man wanted to talk with me 25-30 minutes. He was in Montgomery, Alabama. They would be in Dalton, Georgia, at 4:00. When he and Kenneth Jones arrived, they introduced themselves as two elders from the Pleasant Ridge Church of Christ in Arlington, Texas. They were looking for a preacher. They had an impressive introductory packet of information about the church. They wanted me to read it, and they would get back to me. I told them I wasn’t interested in moving to Texas. They replied, “We aren’t asking you to move to Texas. We want you to read the information, and we’ll talk to you later.” I told my elders Wednesday night about their visit and my response.

In about two weeks, they called requesting me to answer some questions to see if we were compatible. I told them I wasn’t interested in moving to Texas. Kenneth Jones said, “I’m not asking you to move to Texas. The elders would like to know more about you, what you believe, and how you work. It may be we wouldn’t fit.” They were the same questions they asked prospective members and which they used to evaluate Bible class teachers. I told my elders about the questionnaire.

In another two weeks, I received a call, requesting my family and me to visit Arlington. They wanted to acquaint us with the area, meet the other elders, and talk some more. We flew out on Thursday and returned on Saturday. They wanted to arrange another visit. I told them I wasn’t interested in moving to Texas. The only way I’d return was with a consultant, James Jones, from Atlanta, Georgia. He was a marriage and family therapist and a consultant with churches. I said, “It isn’t fair how we interview and hire preachers. There’s eight of you and one of me. When one of you is talking, seven of you are thinking. When I’m talking, nobody’s thinking. I need help. Coming to Arlington would be a major move for my family and me.” See: Who Is Your Counselor?. I told my elders in Dalton before and after I went.

In about two weeks, they called and said they were ready for James and me to come. We spent seven hours talking with the staff and eight hours talking with the elders. The elders and James had an hour without me. I discussed this trip with my elders in Dalton.

The Friday before Labor Day, I received a call inviting me to come to Arlington to work with them. We had an understanding I would have two or three days to think if they invited me to work with them. My family and I discussed it. On Labor Day, I called and told them I had decided to stay in Dalton and thanked them for one of the most challenging and growing experiences of my ministry. It was the best deliberation process I’ve ever known.

The following Wednesday night, I talked with my elders at Central in Dalton. I knew many in the congregation had heard about our talking with Pleasant Ridge. I told them if I’d damaged my relationship with the church, I’d resign and begin looking for another congregation. After discussing this, they told me they wanted me to stay. We had another four years of good ministry in Dalton.

Observations about the Process

We took the time we needed to think. Often a church invites a preacher in for a Sunday. He teaches Sunday morning Bible class and preaches Sunday morning and Sunday night. He and the elders meet an hour before Sunday night services. Then they make a decision affecting the church, the preacher, and his family for years to come. We involved three months from the first contact to the final decision.

They were willing to invest time, effort, and money to make a good choice. The brethren at Pleasant Ridge had the names of several preachers. They visited each one, delivering information for each to consider. That was a long missionary journey from Arlington, Texas, to Montgomery, Alabama, to Dalton, Georgia. They thought it was important.

As the summer progressed, I had the idea they were interested in me—not just “a preacher,” and I would be fortunate if they chose me.

They and I were willing to ask questions and make statements to get to the issue of whether this move was good for Pleasant Ridge and my family and me. We talked about what we liked and didn’t like. We expressed what was impressive and how we were disappointed.

We used outside help. They had a counselor in the congregation, Mike Walker, who participated and observed many of our discussions. James Jones was helpful to them and me. James and I talked between sessions. He observed the discussions. He suggested questions and areas needing more exploration. My family met with James several times during the summer.

The elders at Pleasant Ridge told me the summer was helpful to them and gave them wisdom in selecting their next preacher. This process should involve more than a weekend.

suggestions from observation and experience about looking for a preacher

This post is second in a series of what I’ve learned “trying out” and serving as an interim in seven congregations. Read first: Barber Bullets 1

Consider a “no suicide” contract for the search team. Sometimes people get tired, disillusioned, or frustrated when working on a project. They may quit unexpectedly in disgust: “Now they’ll know how important I was.” A better way is to keep current. It may be during selection that one or more will have a good reason not to complete the assignment. Communicate to the group your intentions and reasons and give them time to adjust to your absence on the committee. Rule # 1 is to let God be a part of the process. It’s not Christian conduct to ignore the teaching of Jesus when you’re searching for a preacher—or any other time. Considerate family members don’t disappear and never explain where they went and why they didn’t show up when expected.

When you’re pursuing a “good preacher,” your first task is not to “hire” him. The first goal is to help you and him decide if this church is a good fit for him and you. When and if you talk with a “good preacher,” and you or he decides it’s not a good fit, you’ve been more successful than if you’d “hired” a “good preacher” that didn’t fit.

Some good eligible men don’t need to marry some good eligible women—not because either is bad or unChristian. They just don’t fit. Many good preachers don’t need to be preaching in many good congregations—not because they’re bad preachers or the churches are bad churches. They’re good. But they don’t fit. From my perspective, this is one of the first tasks of the search team and prospective preacher—determine if you fit. If you don’t fit, you’re wasting time talking about salary, insurance, vacation, number of weeks off for meetings, workshops, and lectureships, retirement plans, and whether to rent a U-Haul or call North American Moving Company.

Remember it’s not only the preacher that’s “trying out.” The congregation is also “trying out.” Both have choices. If he’s a “good preacher,” he’s watching and investigating every aspect of this congregation just as you’re watching and investigating him.

Our family served as Shoney’s and Captain D’s mystery shoppers for six years. We ate at the restaurants once a week and filled out a form, answering questions to check the restaurant, staff, and food each week. As soon as we ate, we mailed the form to their headquarters to help them know how they were doing. They took our suggestions and made adjustments.

When we moved the next time, we made a Shoney’s Mystery Shopper form for each church where we were “trying out.” The church was “trying out” from the first contact until we completed our decision where we were moving.

At one church where I served as an interim, they narrowed their search to four men. They invited each of them and his wife to visit on successive Friday-Saturdays. They interviewed, showed the community, and continued their evaluation of each other.

On one weekend, the preacher stayed over on Saturday night and visited Bible classes and worship the next morning. I wasn’t aware of this, and very few in the congregation knew—just the search team who saw him. I asked the congregation the next Sunday if they were aware they were “trying out” the previous Sunday. I told them one of the four top preacher candidates was present. He was watching and listening, observing singing, praying, friendliness or unfriendliness, the condition of the building and grounds, and getting on-site impressions of what kind of church this was and whether there was a fit. Often search teams go to a prospective preacher’s congregation, observing him. It’s also valuable for a preacher to do this. I call this “equalizing the pressure.”

suggestions from observation and experience about looking for a preacher

This started as a hand-out during the training workshop for the group looking for and evaluating the next preacher. These are things I’ve learned from the University of Hard Knocks. Consider what I say and feel free to use the wastebasket.

Invite God to be part of this process. Remind yourself and others that His wisdom is available to those who pray for it (James 1:5) and work for it (Proverbs 2:1-5). You’re starting a lengthy, difficult, invigorating, enlightening, and frustrating journey. Neither you individually nor the group collectively has the wisdom to deal with all issues, individuals, families, and churches you’ll be affecting as you carry out your task. Each person, including yourself, is a creation of God deserving to be treated with respect and love. God’s word gives us principles for every situation in life. God promised to give us wisdom when we realize we don’t have it. Click To Tweet I suggest you begin this search being poor in spirit and begging God for wisdom you need.

The process is as important as the product. Christians on the Search/Interview committees are not just doing a job. You are participating in an opportunity to grow spiritually. You can learn about God, others, and yourself. Be aware of your hopes, fears, prejudices, and faith. Watch for growth. Thank God for the opportunity to take part in this good work and the strength and wisdom He furnishes.

What are your rules? What are the spoken guidelines? What are the unspoken expectations? Don’t start talking until you agree, as a group, how you’re going to talk. Some suggested guidelines: Discussion Rules. Good agreements are ways of reducing conflict before conflict begins. If you don’t have conflict—differences of opinion—several of you are unnecessary. The reason we have a committee instead of a CEO is to get different perspectives. Click To Tweet The goal is to create an atmosphere where each person feels free and is encouraged to express every viewpoint. What may seem trivial to you, may spark an idea in another person that will make a difference in the outcome.

Spend five minutes at the end of each session to evaluate the process. How did we do? Was I heard? How am I feeling about what we’re doing? How am I relating to others in the group? Do I feel part of the team? It’s easy for a dominant personality or two to monopolize and unduly influence the group. Many people won’t talk unless they’re asked. Be concerned. Be honest. Be interested in the best choice possible. The chairman should ask each person about the process and how they feel about how they interacted during the meeting today.

what will you ask and what will you be asked?

The search team has read recommendations and resumes. They’ve sorted their first impressions into A, B, and C categories. It’s time to continue the evaluation.

The search team and prospective preacher should consider, compile, and practice two sets of questions:

What will I ask?

What will I be asked?

If I’m concerned with only one side of the interview, what I want to know, I’ll be half-prepared. That will come across when the other party begins to ask questions. I need to prepare a repertoire of responses to every question I may be asked by the other person(s).

Some Presuppositions

The purpose of the interview isn’t to “get the job” or “hire this good preacher.” The purpose of interview-evaluation is to see if we fit. There are many good preachers and many good congregations that don’t need to be together. They don’t fit. They may be equally righteous and faithful. But they don’t fit. There are many good men and good women that don’t need to be married. They are good Christians following Jesus. But they don’t fit each other.

Each of the interviewing parties should be equally eager to give and receive critical information that will help the other make a good decision.

Both the church and preacher are trying out. Both have choices. Either can reject the other. If one wants to work together and the other doesn’t, they don’t fit. It takes two to make a match. It takes one to reject an offer.

The best time to get a divorce is before you get married. If there’s anything that would be a disappointment and deal breaker, it’s better to come out during the interview than six months after the new preacher has moved and someone is surprised — the church or the preacher.

Faith grows through creative doubt (Mark 9:23, 24). Ask what you need to know and check with independent sources to sustain or question answers during the interview. Read the post on Checking References.

An excellent principle of the search process:

Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 7:12, NKJV).

Interviews

Church to Preacher

The general principle: ask what you need to know to make a good selection of the preacher and church. Ask enough to discover what you like about the other, what you don’t like, and whether you can put up with what you don’t like to enjoy what you like.

Discuss media involvement on Facebook, Twitter, other media. Exchange friendship, follows, and check the past year of posts.

Discuss how the preacher deals with political issues, your philosophy of the Christian and government, and how it should be handled from the pulpit, in classes, bulletin, and on social media.

Ask about sermon preparation. What % of your sermons come from preparation from scratch, what % from reworked sermons of lessons heard on the internet, lectureships, etc., and what % copies from internet sources such as Sermon Central.

Ask about previous involvement in pornography in print, on the internet, movies, or other sources, and how he guards against this. This is a problem for many ministers: Here’s How 770 Pastors Describe Their Struggle with Porn. If you decide this is unimportant, be prepared to deal with an angry, depressed preacher who will have to be right on every issue, or who’ll have to change everything his way to grow and please the Lord, and could have sexual issues acted out with members of the congregation. To prepare for this question, practice with all members of the Search Team and elders in case the preacher prospect is interested in the same issue with you (Matthew 7:12).

You may find these questions inadequate for your needs. Delete the questions you think are unnecessary, add questions you think are vital, and you’ll have an ideal list for your search.

I suggest a practice session before your first interview. I did this with one interim congregation. I was the preaching candidate. They asked me their questions. I answered. I asked questions a preacher might ask.

You may find these inadequate for your needs. They ask the wrong questions. They don’t ask the right questions. Delete the unnecessary questions, add vital questions, and you’ll have an ideal list for your search.

What suggestions do you have for an evaluation by both parties that will lead to a good fit?

how do you look for a new preacher?

How do you suggest searching for a preacher that will be blessed by and a blessing to this congregation at this time? In this post, I give experience from 1961 to the present, with five congregations in full-time work and interim churches since 2007. This is an outline of a training day for the team directly involved in the search process. As always, the wastebasket is available for any ideas that aren’t helpful.

Presuppositions

I begin the training process with some presuppositions.

I believe God loves His church. Jesus built it and died for it (Matthew 16:18; Acts 20:28). God is not only concerned about the church universal but each congregation individually. Several letters of the New Testament are to local groups of believers.

Since God loves His church and wants the best for it, we should invite Him to be part of this process. Remind yourself and others that His wisdom is available to those who pray for it (James 1:5) and work for it (Proverbs 2:1-5).

The process is as important as the product. Christians on the Search and Interview Teams, including the entire eldership, are not just doing a job but you are participating in an opportunity to grow spiritually. You can learn about God, about others, and about yourself.

Each committee should become a group before they see the first résumé or mention the first preacher’s name. A friend used to say, “I dream of a place and a time where Christians can get together and tell the truth.” The interview and selection process should be one of those times and places.

If one holds back, does not speak his mind, doesn’t ask important questions, doesn’t add helpful insight, or is in any way intimidated or compromised, the group and the church is deprived of group wisdom. Becoming a group will require several meetings before they “get on with the Lord’s work” of selecting a preacher. I believe learning to get along with each other, discussing how we’re going to conduct business, including how we’ll settle conflict when it arises, and getting to know each other in order to “stir up love and good works” is part of “the Lord’s work.”

The training day is designed to begin this process. It’s only the beginning. Usually, a group goes through three stages before it is ready to function:

Forming.

Storming.

Norming.

I include activities in the training to begin those stages. I conducted these training sessions on a Saturday.

7:30 Breakfast. We start with a light meal. Eating together begins the group process. Many things happen when we are eating to bring us together.

After breakfast, I get the group into a circle. Everyone is facing everyone else. Everyone is on the front row.

Prayer is a part of our day at many different times. We pray for wisdom. We pray for the members of the search and interview team. We pray for the elders. We pray for the next preacher. We pray for the men who will be considered who will want to come but will not be selected. We pray for this church and the body of Christ over the world.

8:00 Guidelines. I begin any group (counseling session, Bible class, Family Meeting, Stress Session in a monthly ministers’ workshop) with negotiating guidelines. Family (group) rules are usually unconscious, unspoken, but understood. That makes for difficult communication. I want the rules to be spoken, conscious, and understood. These are the boundaries that improve the possibility that “Christians can get together and tell the truth.” “Can two walk together, unless they are agreed” (Amos 3:3, NKJV)? The answer to that question is, “No!” Many discussions end in chaos or miscommunication because we didn’t talk about how we were going to talk. You can receive a free copy of the guidelines I use by subscribing to my www.newshepherdsorientation.com blog post reminders: GUIDELINES FOR A GOOD DISCUSSION: how to lead a peaceful conversation about powerful things .

8:35 Mixer, introduction. The people line up according to birthdays: January – December. They get into pairs. Each person interviews the other, preparing to introduce the partner to the group. Tell something about yourself and include something that no one knows about you until today. Each person introduces his/her partner.

8:45 What do you bring to this process? It is interesting how different people contribute to the search process. Some are good at calling, recording, leading the meetings, writing letters or emails, asking interview questions, arranging for visits to the congregation, keeping spreadsheets of where each candidate is in the process, preparing sermons on CDs or MP3s for others to hear. We learn more about that in this section of the training session.

9:15 What will you get out of this? Each person needs to examine his motives. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The search process is long and sometimes difficult and frustrating. Unless there is adequate motivation, the members will get discouraged. That can result in some people quitting and/or rushing the process to “get it over with” and end with less than excellent results.

Break

9:45 Centertown Church of Christ now—10 years from now. After the break, I bring people to tables with crayons and large drawing paper. I ask each person to draw a line vertically in the middle of the page. On the left side of the paper, each person draws his or her impression of this congregation now. On the right side of the page, each person draws his or her hopes and dreams for this church ten years from now. After everyone is finished, we come back into the circle and discuss the pictures. Everyone is learning what others see now and what they want to see in the future. These ideas will help form what they want to see in the next preacher.

11:15 Search Committee, Interview Committee, Elders. This is where we discuss the job description of each committee and the elders. It is necessary to have a clear understanding of what each group is and is not to do in the process.

12:00 Lunch.

12:45 Chain Letter. After lunch, I read a chain letter about preachers I received by email: Preacher Chain Letter .

1:00 Preacher of your dreams—preacher of your nightmares. It’s back to the drawing board for this exercise. As before, I ask each person to draw a line down the middle of the paper. On the left side, please draw a representation of the “Preacher of Your Dreams.” If you could get the perfect preacher, what would he look like? What is the kind of preacher would you want to come to this congregation? This will certainly include something about his stand for truth but also attitudes, mannerisms, and attitudes—both in and out of the pulpit. What should be his emphasis? In what areas would you tolerate weaknesses in order to have strengths in other areas?

After everyone is finished with that, on the right side of the paper, please draw the “Preacher of Your Nightmares.” What would the opposite of the “Preacher of Your Dreams” look like?

When all are finished, we get into the circle to discuss these works of art and visualizations of our expectations of the next preacher. I allow each one to tell about their picture and their preacher.

My final question in this exercise is, “What if the preacher of your dreams is someone else’s nightmare?”. How will you work with others who have different expectations of the next preacher? That is the challenge of the selection committee—whether it is the elders during the whole process or whether a group makes recommendations to the elders for their consideration before making the decision. Will each person listen to the other and will each person express their thoughts and feelings freely to contribute to the final selection?

1:30 Barber’s Bullets for Preacher Search is a collection of my thoughts and observations as I have experienced and watched this process. I express my best judgment. As always, the wastebasket is available for anything not worth taking home.

1:45 Evaluation. A good way for me to learn is to do the best I know how and ask others to help me improve. In evaluating the training session, I ask two questions?

What did you learn?

How can this training be better next time?

We conclude at 2:00 with a prayer for God to bless the process and bless us to take advantage of this opportunity to grow in our faith in God, connection to each other, and improvement in our wisdom, skills, and attitude.

What suggestions do you have to prepare people for the new preacher search?

who will participate?

It’s time to look for the next preacher. Who’ll have a part in the search and selection? How will the search be conducted?

Possibilities, Some Ways I’ve Observed

Recommendation. Contact a favorite preacher, president or head of the Bible department of a Christian college, or the director of a preacher training school and ask for their best recommendation. Take their suggestion. Have him try out. If everything looks OK, offer him the work that night before he accepts an offer from another congregation.

“Beauty contest.” Assemble a list of many good preachers. Invite them in to speak on successive Sundays. Give members a reply form. The one most members like, invite him to be your next preacher unless there were red flags during the interview.

Elders serve as the selection group. They decide on a method of search. The elders go ahead with as many as they like, interview, check references, come to a conclusion with or without input from the congregation, and select the new preacher.

Elders involve a group(s) to help in the selection process. I’ve seen this done three ways:

Begin with a Selection Committee. This group receives resumes, asks for recommendations, makes phone interviews, and presents the Interview Committee with four names. The Interview Committee invites the four men and wives, to come to town for a Friday-Saturday visit for more detailed observation and interviews. An elder meets with this committee to keep the elders informed and up-to-date on the progress and prospect. This group recommends a preacher who comes to meet with the elders. If they find him qualified and a fit, he becomes the next preacher. Another possibility, which I recommend: the pick of the preachers visits with the understanding the congregation will have a voice in the invitation of the elders. I’ve known of churches who omitted this step and selected a preacher with a shady past. After he comes to the church and repeats past indiscretions, members say, “I could have told you so. But you hired him, and you gave us no opportunity to comment.”

Have a Selection Committee who does the tasks of the two committees mentioned above. They narrow the field to four and makes recommendations to the elders. The elders invite the four men and wives for their interviews and interaction. They select one man to be considered for the work. That man comes to preach. They ask the congregation to give comments.

Have a Selection Committee do all the work, invite the four men, decide on the best man, present him to the congregation, and receive a response from the group after his visit. The elders meet with him during his visit for try-out.

Whatever the method, there should be a clear understanding of the role of each person and group. Develop written descriptions of the authority and expectations of each person in each group about what is and is not expected. Those expectations should be communicated to the congregation. Understand many will not listen, not understand, and forget. That’s the reason it needs to be written and repeated over and over during the search process.

Prayer to God for wisdom should precede, saturate, and follow the search for the new preacher.

practical principles and closing sermons

My general practice is to present a workshop once a month on Sunday night.

The workshop rules:

They are very practical principles.

Workshop is a code-word for—I can preach as long as I want to. Some of the lessons last an hour.

Workshops

How to Accept, Invite, and Enjoy Criticism. For years I avoided criticism. For that approach, I paid a high price of offense, lack of learning valuable lessons, and eventually, I was told it would be good for me to preach somewhere else. After a session with a counselor one Monday afternoon, I changed my attitude toward criticism. In this workshop, we look at proverbs about criticism and how to deal with it. Listen to How to Accept, Invite, and Enjoy Criticism

We Need More Funerals and Parties. I use an outline I found on the internet prepared by Tom Miller, a former teacher at East Tennessee School of Preaching and Missions. I’d never preached a sermon on this. I often discussed the concept at leadership workshops. Tom attended one of these workshops and shortly I found the outline. I’ve preached it often since then. Listen to We Need More Funerals and Parties

Love Is the Golden Chain that Binds. One of the most over-used, misused, and abused words in our language is a four-letter word, LOVE. In this workshop, we see the word Jesus commands in our relationship with God, family, each other, and our enemies has no emotion in it. It is a way to treat each other, not a way to feel about others. When understood, it makes a difference in the way we act and feel. It’s OK to love someone you don’t like. Listen to Love Is the Golden Chain that Binds

Are You Building Your Life on Facts or Fairy Tales? Are you looking for the time, place, people, and circumstances where you can live happily ever after? If you had the right job, car, house, spouse, or education, could you live happily ever after? Listen to Are You Building Your Life on Facts or Fairy Tales?

Two Closing Sermons

How Should We Treat the New Preacher? I insert observations about preachers, their needs, and how to be helpful to them throughout my interim. The next-to-last sermon in each church is a lesson on how to treat the new preacher. It’s a compilation from many preachers who gave suggestions on how they’d like to be treated—especially when they follow a preacher who has been at a congregation a long time (five or more years). Many people tell me after this sermon they never thought about what I discuss in this lesson. Listen to How Should We Treat the New Preacher?

Every Christian Is an Interim Minister. Many people tell Gail and me they don’t see how we go into a congregation, work a few months, leave, and go somewhere else. When you consider it, every Christian is an interim minister. Someone preceded you. Someone(s) will follow you. Your opportunity is to make it easier and better for those who follow. Listen to Every Christian Is an Interim Minister

I preach many more sermons. The past three posts describe some I think are helpful for transition. As I said at the beginning of the posts on preaching during the interim, I don’t think other interim preachers need to preach the same sermons I preach the same way I preach them. This is a report—not a recommendation. I hope you found a “mustard seed” that’s been helpful.

let’s look at ourselves before we start looking for a preacher

The aim of this blog (and I hope book) is to tell how I do interim ministry. There’s a better way and I hope to do better the next time. I think I’ve improved since my last interim I finished five months ago. This is the plan for now.

I don’t think other interim preachers need to preach the same sermons I preach the same way I preach them. This is a report — not a recommendation.

The first Sunday after moving to a new location is Psalm 118:24. I ask three questions:

Do you believe Jesus loves His church? Surely. He died for it.

Do you believe Jesus loves this congregation? Absolutely. Every saved person here is a member of His body, His bride.

Do you believe God will give us wisdom during this process? He promised it in James 1:5.

The second Sunday in the new church: Recruiting People to Be in the Mustard Seed Collectors and Planters Association. Listen to Mustard Seed Sermon This is an expansion of my first rule: Try not to learn very much. It doesn’t take many Christians doing things better to help the church grow and become more healthy.

We pass out Official Mustard Seed Collector and Planter cards:

The next week I start a seven-week series on Luke 9:23:

Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23, NKJV).

Before we look for a preacher, let’s look at ourselves. Are we the kind of church, am I the kind of Christian, who would attract the kind of preacher we would like to have?

Jesus tells us in Luke 9:23 the path to being His disciple, following Him: deny self, take up your cross daily, and follow Jesus. When I want to do something well, I learn best by watching someone who does it well. I believe Jesus was the best cross-carrier Who ever lived. Paul did a good job following Jesus. Jesus and Paul will be our models during this series of how to carry a cross successfully.

You Have the Power to Live Through Dying — How to Be a Good Winner by Losing
Luke 9:23

This is the first eight weeks on Sunday morning. I want the church to have a good transition. A good transition begins with a good ending. The gospel is the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). I find many get excited about resurrection. Not many want to volunteer for crucifixion. The truth is: crucifixion precedes resurrection. That’s the ending that starts the new beginning.

I gain credibility when people tell how our ministry has been helpful.

I learn ways to improve at the next church. My commitment to each congregation — I’ll do the best I know during this time with you. I’d like to do better at the next church. You’ll help me by telling me how to improve.

By posting, I build trust. A leader is someone who can hear what people like and what they don’t like. An effective leader asks for more. Many people won’t tell their real objections first. My reaction at the first criticism determines whether they’ll share their main concerns. Jesus said, “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32, NKJV). People who took time to fill out evaluations see both compliments and criticisms posted for everyone to see.

I gain much from people who want to help. I appreciate each one who shares and evaluates.